UDL calls for the design of curricula with the needs of all students in mind, so that methods, materials, and assessment are usable by all. Traditional curricula present a host of barriers that limit students' access to information and learning. Of these, printed text is particularly notorious. In a traditional curriculum a student without a well-developed ability to see, decode, attend to, or comprehend printed text is compelled to adapt to its ubiquity as best as he or she can. In contrast, a UDL curriculum is designed to be innately flexible, enriched with multiple media so that alternatives can be accessed whenever appropriate. A UDL curriculum takes on the burden of adaptation so that the student doesn't have to, minimizing barriers and maximizing access to both information and learning.
The UDL framework guides the development of adaptable curricula by means of 3 principles (Figure 2).
Principles of the Universal Design for Learning Framework
Principle 1:
To support recognition learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation Principle 2:
To support strategic learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship. Principle 3:
To support affective learning, provide multiple, flexible options for engagement.
The three UDL principles call for flexibility in relation to three essential facets of learning, each one orchestrated by a distinct set of networks in the brain.
These 3 principles parallel 3 fundamentally important learning components and 3 distinct learning networks in the brain: recognition, strategy, and affect (Rose & Meyer, 2002). The common recommendation of these 3 principles is to select goals, methods, assessment and materials in a way that will minimize barriers and maximize flexibility. In this manner, the UDL framework structures the development of curricula that fully support every student's access, participation, and progress in all 3 essential facets of learning.
Critical to successfully implementing UDL theory is the use of digital materials. Digital materials, unlike the conventional pedagogical mainstays, speech, printed text, and printed images, have an inherent flexibility. They can be modified in a host of ways, depending on the needs of the student. This flexibility makes it feasible to customize learning materials and methods to each individual.
For teachers wondering how to customize the curriculum, CAST has devised three sets of broad teaching methods that support each of the 3 UDL principles (Figure 3, Rose and Meyer, 2002). Network-Appropriate Teaching MethodsTo support diverse recognition networks:
Provide multiple examples
Highlight critical features
Provide multiple media and formats
Support background context
To support diverse strategic networks:
Provide flexible models of skilled performance
Provide opportunities to practice with supports
Provide ongoing, relevant feedback
Offer flexible opportunities for demonstrating skill
To support diverse affective networks
Offer choices of learning context
Offer choices of content and tools
Offer adjustable levels of challenge
Offer choices of rewards
"Universal design in classrooms means using digital tools to create alternatives for students with the widest range of abilities, interests, learning styles, and multiple intelligences. Current research estimates that up to 40% of the students in any one classroom would benefit from adjustments of the "standard" curriculum to make learning more efficient and effective. With universal design principles and tools, educators, service providers and parents can provide a learning environment where all students can succeed." (Technology for Inclusion, 2003)
Digital tools have the greatest flexibility for providing Universal Design for Learning because they possess the ability to perform many tasks at once.
Universal Design Principles:
"Students with disabilities fall along a continuum of learner differences, just as other students do.
Teachers should make adjustments for all students, not just those with disabilities.
Curriculum materials should be as varied and diverse as the learning styles and needs in the classroom, rather than textbook-centered
Rather than trying to adjust the students to learn from a set curriculum, the curriculum should be flexible to accommodate a range of student differences." (Technology for Inclusion, 2003)
Essential Qualities of Universal Design
"Multiple means of representation, which provide choices to suit varied recognition systems (information is presented in a variety of ways)
Multiple means of expression and control, with choices for demonstrating learning
Multiple means of engagement, targeted to the affective system, with different ways of holding students' attention and motivating them to learn (Meyer & O'Neill, 2000a). (Adapted from Technology for Inclusion, 2003).
UDL Classroom Strategies
Textbooks provided in digital format
Videotape demonstrations
PowerPoint presentations - which can include music, art, photography and text
Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom
CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology)
http://www.cast.org/publications/UDLguidelines/version1.html
UDL calls for the design of curricula with the needs of all students in mind, so that methods, materials, and assessment are usable by all. Traditional curricula present a host of barriers that limit students' access to information and learning. Of these, printed text is particularly notorious. In a traditional curriculum a student without a well-developed ability to see, decode, attend to, or comprehend printed text is compelled to adapt to its ubiquity as best as he or she can. In contrast, a UDL curriculum is designed to be innately flexible, enriched with multiple media so that alternatives can be accessed whenever appropriate. A UDL curriculum takes on the burden of adaptation so that the student doesn't have to, minimizing barriers and maximizing access to both information and learning.
The UDL framework guides the development of adaptable curricula by means of 3 principles (Figure 2).
To support recognition learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation
Principle 2:
To support strategic learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship.
Principle 3:
To support affective learning, provide multiple, flexible options for engagement.
These 3 principles parallel 3 fundamentally important learning components and 3 distinct learning networks in the brain: recognition, strategy, and affect (Rose & Meyer, 2002). The common recommendation of these 3 principles is to select goals, methods, assessment and materials in a way that will minimize barriers and maximize flexibility. In this manner, the UDL framework structures the development of curricula that fully support every student's access, participation, and progress in all 3 essential facets of learning.
Critical to successfully implementing UDL theory is the use of digital materials. Digital materials, unlike the conventional pedagogical mainstays, speech, printed text, and printed images, have an inherent flexibility. They can be modified in a host of ways, depending on the needs of the student. This flexibility makes it feasible to customize learning materials and methods to each individual.
For teachers wondering how to customize the curriculum, CAST has devised three sets of broad teaching methods that support each of the 3 UDL principles (Figure 3, Rose and Meyer, 2002).
Network-Appropriate Teaching MethodsTo support diverse recognition networks:
- Provide multiple examples
- Highlight critical features
- Provide multiple media and formats
- Support background context
To support diverse strategic networks:- Provide flexible models of skilled performance
- Provide opportunities to practice with supports
- Provide ongoing, relevant feedback
- Offer flexible opportunities for demonstrating skill
To support diverse affective networks"Universal design in classrooms means using digital tools to create alternatives for students with the widest range of abilities, interests, learning styles, and multiple intelligences. Current research estimates that up to 40% of the students in any one classroom would benefit from adjustments of the "standard" curriculum to make learning more efficient and effective. With universal design principles and tools, educators, service providers and parents can provide a learning environment where all students can succeed." (Technology for Inclusion, 2003)
Digital tools have the greatest flexibility for providing Universal Design for Learning because they possess the ability to perform many tasks at once.
Universal Design Principles:
Essential Qualities of Universal Design
UDL Classroom Strategies